Syria's head coach has dismissed suggestions his team represents a deep division stemming from the country's civil war, by making the claim that there is no conflicting tensions in his native country.
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The Syrian national team has come under criticism for its close links to president Bashar Al-Assad and accusations of being a tool for pro-government propaganda.
The team is financially backed by the Assad regime. Some coaches and players have publicly declared their support for the Syrian president, while others have refused to accept national team call-ups due to the close ties with government forces. The success of the national team has been met with derision from sections of the Syrian community due to the team's partisan stance.
Speaking ahead of their World Cup qualifier against Australia at ANZ Stadium on Tuesday night, Syria's head coach, Ayman Hakeem, said there is no divide in his country.
"First of all, there is no divide in Syria, there's nothing like that," he said via a translator. "All the Syrians are behind the Syrian national team, the Syrian national [team] have proven all and shown the people around the world and all societies that Syria is one and there is no divide in groups or anything like that."
The civil war in Syria has lead to the deaths of close to half a million people and displaced more than 7 million others.
It has not left football unscathed either. Nearly 40 professional players are understood to have been killed.
Omar Al-Soma is one of the most talented strikers from the Middle East, but was one several players who refused to play for the national team due to the team's links to the Assad regime. He eventually accepted a call-up during this qualifying campaign.
The team is widely regarded as being representative of the regime but a large proportion of the Syrian community in Australia have not voiced their discontent. Significant fanfare met their arrival at the Sydney Airport while the local diaspora held a function on Sunday evening for the team. More than 5,000 tickets were sold to Syrian supporters, meaning more than one third of the Syrian community in Australia will be attending the match.
"As soon as we arrived at the airport there was a big welcome from the Syrian community," Al-Soma said via a translator. "I'm thanking all the supporters in Australia for supporting the Syrian national team and in the end tomorrow that will be a positive thing."
